Arthur Kirkland and the case of the fae
by hannica7
Summary: Arthur Kirkland has just moved to London and has a job as a detective. His new room mate is Francis Bonnefoy and the two of them have to solve an unusual case involving fairy tales and a genius criminal. That is if Arthur can defend himself from his room mate long enough!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Welcome to 221B Baker street

"Ach, yer always tryin to make me look bad arn't ye?" Sighed an exhausted red haired police officer from Scotland yard.

Scotland yard was of course London's police headquarters, and the red haired officer sitting in a large black carriage on a red velvet seat was detective Iain Kirkland. He was smoking a cigar while his wild emerald eyes glared at his companion. His companion didn't seem the slightest bit fazed by the frightening gaze that would have made many harden criminals feel chills run up and down their spines.

No, his companion, the shorter scruffy haired blonde with thick eyebrows and matching emerald eyes, was far more intimidating than any criminal. He was the detective's younger brother, and therefore gazes where ineffective. To also add injury to insult he was also known as England's most promising new detectives. He had just solved a practically brutal murder involving a family who had all been stabbed and harvested and was now moving to London.

"Well my dear brother, you shouldn't make it so easy for me to do." The blonde replied lighting a pipe

"Hmph" Was all Iain had to say for himself

The two sat in silence as the carriage bumped its way along the cobbled streets of London passing crowds of people from the street merchants to the wealthy out for a stroll. They could smell the polluted smells of the Thames, how unfortunate the wind was blowing this way, but where sometimes offered the relief of a bakery shop, or a restaurant or pub as they passed. They were still silent when the carriage shuddered to a halt in Whitehall.

"We're here" Iain announced the obvious

"Indeed" was the sarky reply

The two men stepped gracefully out of the carriage, Iain paid the cab driver, for the carriage they were in was a cab, and the two made their way up the steps into a large grand building overlooking the Thames on the Victoria Embankment. Inside it was like a bustling bee hive of activity. Blue uniformed men in blue hard hats scuttled to and thro some even stood at a large wooden front desk talking to average looking citizens.

"Ahh Inspector Iain good timing!" A man with rather large sideburns and moustache who was wearing a suit said while striding over to the brothers.

"It is. Tis here is ma wee brother Arthur Kirkland. He will be offerin us some assistance on a couple o' cases." Iain told the man while indicating the blonde haired man as Arthur.

"A pleasure Mr Kirkland, I have heard so much about you already you seem almost legendary. I am the chief inspector here at Scotland yard. " The suited man said while shaking Arthurs hand.

"Hardly legendary sir, I am just getting into the business." Arthur said in a slightly bored manner

"I see. Your brother Iain has informed me you have only just moved to London, do you have your own place to call home yet?" the sergeant asked

"Unfortunately no." Arthur replied He started to examine his surroundings.

"Well you are in luck, I happen to know that our doctor here at the station is looking for a boarder for his home on Baker street, number 221B I do believe. Why not drop by afterwards and see if it is to your liking? I will inform the doctor myself. I am sure your brother will be glad to get his own home back." The sergeant continued

"That is kind sir. I will defiantly stop by." Arthur answered

Even though Arthur said all this with a smile and pleasantly enough he couldn't help but want to scream at the man to be quiet. He could see his brother's temple twitch, a sign of jealousy at the praise his boss had given him, plus the man talked far too much. Once the man was gone Arthur raised an eyebrow to indicate just what he thought of what he assumed to be a terrible chief inspector. Iain shook his head and lead his brother on a tour.

Of course the place itself was impressive; it had its own gory history, and was amazingly large. Still it didn't impress Arthur. Arthur was a lone wolf, and all this following the rules just didn't fit into his agenda. Still if his brother was happy here...

Halfway through Iain's long talks about something or other Arthur drifted out and wondered what kind of man this doctor could be. Baker street was not in a bad area of London, and being a doctor he had to have some intellectual skill. This had potential.

Halfway though his own thoughts and half listening to his brothers rambling, Arthur wasn't actually paying attention to where he was walking and collided with someone. Both staggered back and Arthur muttered an apology. The long haired blue eyed blonde that Arthur crashed into stumbled but soon returned to his normal height which was the same as Arthur's own. Arthur was slightly taken back by the man's handsomeness. Iain watched the proceedings from the side.

"Francis imagine bumpin into ye" Iain laughed and greeted the blonde Arthur had almost knocked over

"Yes quite literally, really I am sorry about that old chap." Arthur joined his brother.

Francis looked at Arthur and smiled. Iain looked from his brother to Francis thoughtfully. Arthur could tell he was keeping something from him, but didn't care. He watched Francis thoughtfully. Both of them had an air of dangerous wild animals circling each other, whether to attack each other or not Arthur was unsure.

"Arthur, this is ma friend Francis Bonnefoy. Francis this is Arthur Kirkland." Iain introduced them

"Kirkland... Iz ee a relation of yours mon ami?" Francis asked in a heavy French accent

So Francis was French, well it couldn't be helped. Arthur decided to withdraw his judgement. Still the way that Francis was eyeing made him feel like a dessert infront of a greedy child.

"Aye ma brother."

"Then I will ask yer permission before asking im out." Stated Francis boldly closing the gap between Arthur and himself.

"That's enough of that, you have no idea how much maintenance I would be. Good day Mr Bonnefoy." Arthur said and walked briskly away

Iain was laughing as he jogged to keep up. Did he perhaps think Francis was joking? Arthur could tell that the Frenchman wasn't. The man's body language spoke of confidence and desire and he was the object of those emotions. It made him uneasy to say the least. So much that he almost sighed in relief when he arrived at the lovely stone and typically Victorian styled terrace row on Bakers street and walked down the pathway to 221B.

It was handsome with a black iron fence around a small garden, the walls where a polished white colour and the front door was black to match the fence. Arthur knocked on the bronze door knocker while Iain stood just behind him. The two waited for a couple of seconds before an elderly looking lady opened the door.

"Good Afternoon my dear lady. Is this the doctor's house?" Asked Arthur

"Yes it is. You must be the young gentlemen who were coming to see the house. I am the landlady, Mrs Hudson, the doctor rents this house. He seems to be looking for a roommate. The doctor is a marvellous young man. He is a real gentleman and eager to help anyone." The elderly lady told them while leading them into the house.

Arthur took note of this. Maybe this doctor was nothing more than a people pleaser. This was depressing, as he hoped a doctor could bring him more interesting conversations. This was not to be the case if he was a simple minded people pleaser.

The house was really nice. He had a large room and his own study. The living room, dining room, sitting room and kitchen would have to be shared. That was fine in Arthur's books as he planned on living in his room and study. It was tastefully decorated as well, as well as having medical models and posters scattered in an organized way around the house.

"This is good. I will pay for the first month's rent and the down deposit." Arthur said in a commanding tone

"How wonderful. Welcome to Baker street Mr Kirkland." Mrs Hudson welcomed him

It hadn't taken long for Iain and Arthur to move all of Arthurs possessions into his new home. Arthur's study and room already looked like a mess, as if a hurricane had hit it or he had just carelessly thrown his things into the rooms. The rooms where filled with small piles of items. It was this sight that greeted Francis as he pushed open the door to Arthurs study.

"Mon dieu, what 'ave you done?" Asked Francis

Arthur paused in his shuffling through a pile, and slowly straightened to look behind him. Francis slowly walked into the room. Arthurs eyes narrowed.

"Oh please tell me that my deductions are wrong! Ah but of course they are not." Arthur pleaded

"Deductions? And what deductions ave you made mon cher?" Asked Francis

"Mon cher... I should really hit you for that, but then you wouldn't be able to eat for weeks. Anyway my deduction is that you are the doctor of this house. The fact that you entered the house without ringing the doorbell indicates that you have a key. By the way you just touched your right pocket ( Francis sheepishly removed his hand away from his pocket) I can assume I am correct and that is the location of your key. Not only that, but being Scotland Yard's doctor would explain your presence there earlier. Oh and the fact that you're concerned by the way I organize my rooms. Is all this correct _my dear_ Francis?" Arthur replied

Francis nodded. Arthur felt slightly disappointed that he wasn't impressed with his deduction skills; instead Francis continued to look around the room in distress. Arthur followed his gaze and noticed that it was flickering between the piles of things seemingly thrown into the room. He watched as Francis picked up a slipper and a package of tobacco fell from it on to the floor.

"Iz zis ow you plan on living? In zis squalor? " Francis asked

"Squalor? Most certainly not! Have you never heard of the chaos theory? It is the theory that things that seemingly have no order actually do have order. This room is a prime example." Arthur said indignantly

Francis sighed as he watched the British man scurry across his room, putting this and that in certain piles. Francis had no idea what kind of system he was running but hoped it wouldn't carry over to the rest of the house. It looked like living with Arthur Kirkland was going to be quite the challenge.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapt 2

Violins and the Kirkland's

Francis had been quite right in believing that Arthur would be hard to live with. Iain had told him that his brother didn't have any friends and was a loner, but Francis had thought it was a mean comment one brother might say about the other. However he was wrong. The fact that Arthur didn't have any friends might have to do with the fact that he locked himself in his rooms for most of the two weeks that they had lived together. This behaviour and antisocial attitude was surely to harm any friend making skills Arthur could possibly possess.

But the most troublesome part of living with Arthur was his lack of consideration. He liked to play his violin at four in the morning, smoke cigars and opium to help him think, or so he claimed, and generally make life difficult. Secrets and hidden items where impossible in the house with Arthur around. To make things worse Arthur was a terrible drunk. He was loud and obnoxious and eager to fight anyone.

And while on the subject of the fighting, it was something to behold. It turned out this was another skill that Arthur possessed. He was a frighteningly skilled boxer and even seemed to know some martial arts. The end result was that he managed to enter street fights and win. Francis had a sneaking feeling that this was how Arthur had been getting his money lately.

"Good morning Bonnefoy, have you seen the paper?" Asked Arthur walking in after he had taken a bath, his hair still slightly wet and he was wearing a plain looking suit.

"Azzur, 'ow many baths 'ave you 'ad in the past twenty-four 'ours?" Francis asked pausing his train of thought and coffee drinking to hand Arthur the paper.

"Hmmm, about four or five I think." Was the reply as Arthur buried himself in the paper

"May I ask why?" Asked Francis

" There's nothing wrong with cleanliness. Besides cleanliness is close to godliness." Arthur murmured

"You don't believe in god."

"No, but I do believe in tiny bacteria." Arthur continued

"But to take five baths! I think your germ phobia iz bordering on psychopathic. " Francis exclaimed

"They say there's a thin line between genius and insanity."

Francis stayed silent to that. Arthur breathed an inward sigh of relief as he scanned the paper. The two sat in silence as breakfast continued. Francis knew that Arthur didn't like to be disturbed while reading the paper, but he just couldn't resist. He caught Arthur's eye and winked. Arthur quickly dived back into his paper and pretended that he wasn't blushing. Why did his flatmate have to have such an active libido?

A knock on the door interrupted Francis's merciless teasing as he inched closer to Arthur. Arthur had been watching Francis's attempt to tease him with mild amusement, and rose to answer the door to spoil his fun. Francis's face fell as Arthur disappeared down the hallway and opened the door. When he came back Francis heard a mixture of British dialects, the Scottish one he recognized as Iain's, but there was a Welsh one as well.

The door burst open and a harassed looking Arthur came in with a pale but smiling looking Iain followed by another blonde with longer looking hair than Arthur, and who was the same height and had Emerald eyes. Francis stood up and stretched out his hand to the other blonde who looked at it with amusement in the same way as Iain.

"How 'ave ye been with ma brother? Yer still alive, which is good, but ah am guessin the twa of yer are _together now._" Iain laughed while speaking to Francis

" Oh please!" Hissed Arthur

Francis smiled and shook his head at Iain. The other blonde however looked thoughtfully at Arthur. Arthur realized this and raised an eyebrow at him. The other blonde opened his mouth to say some thing but Arthur inturupted him by poking him in the chest with the bow of his violin which he must have picked up while in the hallway.

"shut up you. Why the devil are you two cursing me with your presence anyway?" Arthur said savagely

"Well thaurs been some trouble." Iain said looking sheepish

"Ok so your here to try and give me a case, but why is the other one here... oh someone important has died haven't they? Or maybe it is who the murderer is targeting? Judging by how pale Iain is this is quite a troublesome case. How can I be of service?" Arthur said smiling sweetly but his eyes seemed to say entertain me if you can.

Francis sat quietly. The three of them seemed to forget he was there. He was getting slightly irritated at being ignored, no one even bothering to introduce him to the longer haired Arthur clone, and started to pour tea for everyone to bring their attention back on him. Naturally Arthur took his actions for granted, as did the other blonde. Iain gave Francis his thanks. Once Francis had finished pouring the tea and had got Iain's attention he took a seat next to the Scottish man.

" oo ez zat man Azzur ez talking to mon ami?" Francis asked

"Hmm? Oh, thas Arthurs twin brother Tristain. Yer see both of em are quite talented and have the same skill o' deduction. Tris is a wee bit smater than Arthur, but Arthur is less bone idle and mixes with people a bit better (Francis looked incredulous at this) than him. Yer see whaur ah mean in a sec." Iain explained taking another sip of his tea.

Francis watched wide eyed as the two brothers where arguing again. Arthur claimed that Tristain was spying on him and Tristain played the poor wounded brother routine. It was almost comedic, but when two people who had such high intellect argued they soon left the other two in the dust by bringing the argument to a completely new plain of thought. Iain finished his tea and placed the cup on the saucer with a gentle clack of china.

"Thas enough ye twa, ah am here to say tha now ah am the new chief inspector of Scotland yard. The old chief inspector has met an untimely demise. Tha is what ah came here to talk to ye aboot Arthur." Iain said loudly finishing his younger brothers argument for them

Both brothers paused. Arthur was recalling the man in the suit he had met on his tour of Scotland yard. Francis had paled, as he had known the man well. No wonder Iain looked like he hadn't slept. The poor man had taken his old bosses place before he even had time to grieve.

"Well I suppose some congratulations are in order for you Iain. How lucky for you to be working even closer with me. Pay attention you may learn something. However I don't see how his death involves me, Scotland yard can take care of this." Arthur waved his hand in dismissal

"Because his death is one of many. Some of our British politicians have met similar ends. As you can imagine this is quite troublesome for me. Oh and Arthur, there seems to be no connection between the victims, none of them had met each other before. There are also similar murders of lower class people as well. Don't you want to know how they are all connected? What the motive is? This is a slightly interesting game for you. I will give you a lovely little check for your trouble and Scotland yard will as well." Tristain tried to tempt Arthur

Francis noticed that he waved the check for a huge amount of pound sterling in Francis's direction. Obviously he didn't think Arthur would be interested in the money, and he wasn't as he told Tristain that he didn't care for the money. Francis was glad that he was seated, as he might have fainted at the fact that Arthur had turned down such a huge amount of money.

"You're not going to take the case?" Tristain asked

" I never said that. You know as well as I that the victims have to be connected somehow, are you lying to me Cymru?" Arthur hissed

"Cymru?" Francis wonderd out loud

"Aye, Tristains nickname." Iain whispered

" I'll take the case, but I will require Francis as my assistant." Arthur demanded

There was silence as the two other Kirkland brothers looked at each other in surprise. Arthur ignored his siblings and went back to his paper. Francis looked at him in surprise as well, but then smirked. Arthurs expression was unreadable to everyone apart from himself and Tristain. Tristain was looking at his brother with interest as if it was the first time seeing him.

"Of course, he must be a good doctor if you require his assistance on these cases." Tristain said his eyes lighting up in jest

"Yes, yes he is a fine doctor. He was also a fine solider. I can tell he was a solider due to his organized ways, his deep love of the bottle, used to drown certain memories, and that lovely military issued hand gun in his closet." Arthur recited

" Well I will leave you to it, good day to you gentleman." Tristain said taking his leave

"Arthur ah expect tae see ye at Scotland Yard tomorrow." Iain instructed his brother who was still reading the paper.

"Yes." Was the murmed reply

As soon as his two brothers had left and the front door had shut Arthur threw down the paper. His eyes where sparkling with interest and joy. Francis looked at him a little angrily, after all it was someone that he knew who was lying dead in a morgue somewhere. Arthur ignored his companions anger and was rummaging around in the desk that was next to the window opposite. He drew out his gun, a Webley Bulldog, and placed it in his pocket.

" You ave a gun?" Francis said in alarm

"Of course, you do as well. We are going to probably need them so get it ready for tomorrow." Arthur demanded

"Why did you say you wanted me to elp you in ze case? Ave you fallen for me?" Asked Francis with a wink

"No I think you may be of some use that is all. Sorry to get your hopes up." Arthur smirked as he left the room

Francis heard Arthur crashing around upstairs. He smiled a little and wondered if perhaps Arthur was lying. Then again, Arthur had never shown any proof as to even having a heart never mind using it. Francis sighed, at least life was never boring.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Fairy tales and servants

Francis found himself in an awkward situation. Awkward, but to him highly enjoyable. He and Arthur where presently locked in a small closet located just inside the briefing room of Scotland yard. Arthur was on his knees listening through the crack in the door, while Francis was huddled close to him pretending to be trying to listen at the door as well. Pretending was the key word in that sentence, because he kept using this as an opportunity to grope Arthur. Arthur on his part was getting slightly annoyed, but kept ignoring the attacks on his bottom to hear what was going on in the room. This was until Francis crossed the line and he snapped at him.

"Whose fault iz zis? Et iz yours! You managed to ban yourself from the meeting in a matter of minutes! Not even your brother could defend you from ze other policemen. Et iz your fault we are in 'ere. " sulked Francis in retaliation

"My dear doctor would you please shut up. It is not my fault that this place is run by idiots." Complained Arthur quietly

It was true, in only a few minutes of entering Scotland yard Arthur had managed to make all the policeman angry at him with insults or annoying observations. As such they demanded him not to come anywhere near them; leaving Iain no choice but to fill them in later on the case. Of course Arthur didn't like this at all and hid in the closet so that he could hear about the murders.

"Where iz Tristain? I thought he might be elping us non?" Francis asked

"Don't be ridiculous, Tristain isn't that type of man at all. More like the kind of man to sit in a stuffy arm chair and read papers in his gentleman's club. And not that kind of gentleman's club (Arthur saw Francis's face light up )." Hissed Arthur

The two of them stopped their useless argument as they could hear the murmuring of a crowd and seats being scraped across the floor. As they both pressed up against the door to hear, and unnoticeably against each other, Iain's voice silenced the crowd.

"Yer all here because there is a serial killer on the loose. His latest victim was someone tha we had ken well. Now it is personal." Iain announced to get the crowds attention

"If it is personal then that is your first mistake." A snobby voice that sounded like Tristain said

"Now where is Arthur? You are going to need his help, I am merely here to make sure he had turned up." Tristain continued

"He got kicked oot. " Iain replied

"Tcht do you even want to solve this case? " Tristain sneered

"Sit yer arse down Cymru or sae help me god." Warned an angry Iain

Arthur took the opportunity that Tristains disturbance had caused to open the door so they could just see through into the room. It was only open a slither, but when Tristain came towards them to sit in the chair infront of the door Arthur jumped back causing himself and Francis to fall back taking a few jackets with them in the process. Arthur found himself in Francis's lap and due to the jackets being tangled around them he wouldn't be able to free himself without bringing attention to them. So he motioned to Francis to be quiet. Arthur noticed Tristain glance at the closet and cursed the fact that he probably knew they were in here. He would just have to ignore him for now. He turned back to the room where an officer with curly brown hair was speaking.

"What is odd about this killer is that they seem to be setting a theme for the murders. They have chosen a fairy tale theme and seem to be acting it out. The latest murder was Snow white." The officer told the room.

"Noo only tha, but we have noticed tha all the victims have been men." Iain continued

Arthur sat silent and tilted his head in thought. That was interesting, now if only he could see the crime scene. The fact that the murder was setting these scenes showed that it was suppose to be some kind of message. Well that was obvious, and the fact that the murderer had left it probably meant that they had been careful with it so not to be caught. No, it was the little things that the police felt where unimportant that solved the crimes.

"Hmm I hope there is another murder. It sounds like this murderer puts on quite a show!" Arthur whispered

"Azzur! People are being killed!" Francis said aghast

"Oh honestly Francis! Everyone is going to die, it's just a question of how." Arthur responded a little amazed that Francis had missed such a big picture of life.

" 'Ow depressing you are Azzur." Francis said in a tone Arthur found unreadable

"It is only the truth."

The rest of the meeting went by uneventfully. It was soon apparent that Arthur found the meeting uninteresting as he fell asleep in Francis's lap. Francis squirmed under the weight, wishing desperately for some way to bring his sleeping legs back to life. He cursed Arthur under his breath for playing his violin all night. If he hadn't played that stupid instrument he would probably have stayed awake.

Francis's thoughts and complainants where interrupted as the door of the closet opened causing him to blink and look up at two shocked and slightly amused Kirkland brothers. Arthur lazily opened one eye in response to the light that now flooded in.

"Having fun are we?" Sneered Tristain

Arthur sighed and opened both eyes. He untangled himself from the jackets, knocking more jackets off in the process, and scrambled to his feet.

"No the meeting was terribly dull and unhelpful. I would like to see the next crime scene and there will be another, the murderer wants us to get his message." Arthur grumbled while stepping out of the closet and dusting himself off.

"Sae ah take it yer be tankin this case then?" Asked Iain

"Yes, now how about we have some tea? Bonnefoy will put the kettle on won't you? There's a good chap." Arthur said while leaving with his brothers

Francis sighed and grit his teeth. As his legs where slowly getting their feeling back he couldn't help but wonder bitterly why Arthur treated him like a servant. If Arthur needed something to rest his head upon while he took a nap he would use Francis, if he needed someone to carry his shopping Francis was sure he'd use him. Still as soon as he could walk he found himself staggering off to the staff room, just why did he listen to and put up with Arthur?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Sleeping Beauty

In short Arthur was amazing, brilliant even. Francis concluded that this was the reason he listened to him and allowed Arthur to order him around. However he, or rather I, am getting slightly ahead of myself, as Francis is in the staffroom looking at three cups of tea hesitantly wondering when he should remove the tea bags.

"Don't tell me Francis that after all your bragging about how you can cook the most amazing dishes ever you can't even handle a simple cup of tea? Any English child can make that." Complained Arthur

Francis jumped as he hadn't even noticed the three brothers come in, least of all Arthur creep up behind him. Francis decided then and there just to take the tea bags out, but as he did so Arthur poured the steaming blackish brown liquid down the sink.

"No time for that Bonnefoy, the murderer has struck again and I will need you to accompany me to the crime scene." Arthur explained

"B-but the tea!" Stammered Francis

"It was bound to be ghastly." Arthur replied

Francis grumbled under his breath as he followed the Kirland's out and into a waiting cab. It was oddly quiet in the cab, as Arthur was staring at Tristain as if he had never seen him before. Tristain was likewise staring at Arthur and smirking at him.

"Don't you have something else to do like advise the queen or bore some boring politician?" Arthur asked Tristain rudely

"And miss you acting strangely Albion? I don't think so! I wonder if this could be the closest thing to love that your simple emotions can handle..." Pondered Tristain

"Love? What are you talking about?" Arthur asked in confusion

"It's an emotion Arthur, the one where a person likes to be in the company of another and feels quiet lost without them. Sometimes they find it unbearable to be without that person." Tristain explained as if Arthur was a small child

Arthur sat in silence actually contemplating what Tristain had said. He didn't know much about love, and he wondered exactly how much his twin brother could possibly know, but by that definition he arrived at a conclusion.

" Oh you mean Francis and I? Well I suppose I would feel lost without him. I mean chemistry and cooking are not as related as everyone says. Yes, without him I would have to eat my own cooking! It would also be unbearable if I had to rely on that idiot mortician like the police do." Arthur nodded in agreement

"Azzur, I think that you may have missed some critical points there mon ami." Francis laughed

Arthur looked at Francis quizzically. Did someone just say he was incorrect and had missed something? What was the world coming to! He was starting to get a headache because of this strange conundrum. Francis noticed Arthur wincing in pain and looking utterly lost and sighed.

"Azzur, you 'ave just announced that you love me." Francis tried

"So?"

"So? That's the emotion that 'usbands and wives feel, most people who 'ave sexual relations-" Francis started

"Okay stop I get it! I just forgot the name of that emotion that's all. I see it as irrelevant so why should I remember its name?" Arthur cut Francis off

Yet again the cab remained quiet as Francis openly gawked at Arthur in disbelief. Arthur glared out the window as he was sulking and was trying to ignore Francis. Iain was looking from Arthur to Francis and then Tristain in confusion. Tristain was silently shaking with laughter.

It was a still laughing Tristain who paid the taxi driver as Arthur stormed off into a grand brick manor with ivy growing up its face. Iain and Francis had to jog to keep up as Arthur practically ran up the grand sweeping staircase and into a bedroom with a grand four poster bed, knocking policeman to the side as he did so.

The sight before him stunned Francis and Iain, but Arthur merely blinked. On the four poster bed was a man wearing a long elegant satin white evening gown with a tiara on his brown haired head. The light net curtains blew lazily in the wind coming from the French windows. The victim looked like he was sleeping peacefully. Well he would if he didn't have a knife poking out of his chest where his heart was.

"It's sleepin beauty. Tha is the fairy tale the murderer has set up." Iain informed them

"Yes thank you again for the statement about the obvious Iain, I can now see how you got the position of chief inspector." Arthur said rolling his eyes

"Bas" Muttered Iain

Arthur ignored him as he strolled around the room looking at the wooden bookshelves filled with books, and examining everything but the dead man. Francis opened the man's wardrobe and let out an appreciative whistle. Arthur followed him with Iain shadowing. To Iain the wardrobe looked like every well to do Victorian aged mans closest. Neatly folded suits, waistcoats and shirts as well as nicely shined shoes.

"Good work Bonnefoy!" Arthur exclaimed staring in the closet

"Aboot what?" Asked Iain

"Just look at those shoes!" Arthur exclaimed

"Sae?"

"They are ze latest of fashion from Italy!" Cried Francis

"How dae ye ken tha? Oh bloody hell, dinnea tell me tha Cymru isn't jokin and yer twa-"

"No, I just happened to try and buy a new pair of shoes the other day and noticed these, which the clerk tried to sell to me." Arthur waved his hand in dismissal

"Francis however is French so he is naturally inclined that way. Now go and examine the body Francis, I will find your opinion far more useful than that idiot that Iain brings with him." Arthur instructed

Francis went to stand by the man's body while Arthur stood next to him and examined the bedside table. On the table was a bible open to Leviticus:18 and 19. Arthur noted this with interest and decided to examine the body over Francis's shoulder. He lent a little too close to Francis, but it was all unintentional. Still his hot breath on Francis's neck as he bent down to examine the body and speak to him made Francis blush slightly.

"Well? What is your opinion?" Arthur asked

"Ee ez ... erm...dead." Francis replied as he momentarily forgot himself

"Well yes, I suppose that is a good start. Keep going." Arthur encouraged

" Ee as been stabbed in ze heart, but that ez not what killed him. It looks like ee was strangled. But you knew that already didn't you?" Francis said as Arthur nodded the whole time

"Continue."

"Ee died about twelve hours ago." Francis finished

Arthur eyed the knife sticking out of the man's chest and his hair. The other policemen were examining the dress. Arthur rolled his eyes but before he could complain Tristain walked into the room. The elder twin paused as he looked at the body and then allowed his eyes to flicker over Arthur and Francis.

"I suppose you know who this man is?" Tristain asked

"Non, desole am I suppose to?" Asked Francis

"Tcht, it is rather clear who he is Bonnefoy. Look at his wardrobe, all business suits, a well loved pocket watch is on the bedroom table. Not to mention that the desk across the room holds an abacus and a governmental seal. What can we deduct from that?" asked an exasperated Arthur

"Ee was a government official?" Francis replied

"Yes. From the abacus I would say an accountant for the government. Fairly high up due to the size of this house and his expensive taste in clothing. There are ring marks on his desk from drinks, as well as a bottle of whisky kept in the top draw of the desk, so he was a drinker. In conclusion I believe this man to be Mr Howards, who was a top government accountant who was well known for his love of the bottle." Concluded a smug Arthur

"That is all true Arthur, but it does help that there are a bunch of letters addressed to him on his desk doesn't it?" Teased Tristain

Arthur blushed and glared at Tristain, who winked at him in return. Francis was looking at Arthur with interest. Arthur noticed this and looked at him questionly.

"Can you really tell all that from a few simple observations?" Asked Francis

"Of course you can. It is the power of deduction. I have made a few observations of the scene here. I believe that I have narrowed the reason for this mans death to two probabilities." Arthur said

Authors notes:

Ah sorry this is so late! I have been working and volunteering.

The crime scene is marvellously weird isn't it?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 The church of hypocrites

No matter how much Francis tried to get Arthur to tell him his two theories Arthur refused to indulge him. Francis would have dropped it and continued his life, but Arthur spent the whole of the rest of the day and night smoking opium, drinking and playing his violin. Naturally this was disturbing Francis's beauty sleep and he marched straight into Arthur's dark smoky study.

The curtains where drawn , smoke hung in the air and Arthur stood next to the fireplace with his violin playing a beautiful melody with his eyes closed and listening to the music. Francis waded through the room trying his best not to knock over a pile of books and to follow a pathway through the room that the clutter had been cleared from. Once he made it in front of Arthur he cleared his throat.

Arthur opened his eyes with a start "My god, I now know why they call it beauty sleep. You look like death warmed up froggy!"

Indeed Francis did look terrible. His usual long silky wavy hair hung limply by his waxy pale looking face. His blue eyes where framed by threatening dark sleep deprived circles. He was not in the mood for his flatmates banter and frowned.

"Azzur, if you do not stop playing that violin I will place et somewhere that will cause your eyes to water." Threatened a very grouchy Francis

Arthur didn't look a tiny bit upset by Francis's threat. Instead he threw everything off of two arm chairs and indicated that Francis should sit. Francis wondered why he obeyed as he wordlessly sat in the chair across from Arthur. Once he had, he was surprised to notice that Arthur too had giant dark circles around his eyes, and that most of the items he took off of his own seat where plates full of food.

"Azzur, 'ave you been eating?" Francis asked with slight concern

"No there hasn't been any time. All I can think about is how could these victims be connected? They come from such different social statuses. What could they have in common? Once I figure that out, then I will find our culprit." Arthur said glancing at the wall behind Francis

Francis turned and felt his jaw drop. Pictures of all the victims, including the past chief inspector, where smiling down on them. There were quite a lot, all men, all of varying ages. A few pieces of red yawn connect some of them to others, but not all. It looked like a giant spider web with the mens pictures caught in it. Arthur sighed and closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of the troublesome wall mural.

"What did you need mon cher? Whatever it is you must make it quick az I 'ave church tomorrow." Francis asked calmly

"Yes that is what I wanted to talk to you about. I think I'll join you." Arthur replied

Francis was taken back. Arthur was not a church goer. Once a year he might go to the Presbyterian with Iain, or the church of England for Christmas, but he usually stayed away from the churches. As well as having his doubts about religion, he also couldn't stand the people in the churches. They were always filled with hypocrites, ones who berated others for not following the bible publically, but behind closed doors frequently sinned against it. Francis couldn't argue with his logic because he was always sinning himself.

"And what do I owe zis chage of 'eart ?" Francis asked curiously

"The bible at that crime scene was open to some interesting pages to do with gods rules or sins or whatever. The best place to look for religious answers would be a church." Mused Arthur

"Oui, et iz. Now I am going to bed. Bonne nuit." Yawned Francis

Francis rose out of his seat but before he could walk out of the room Arthur stood up. Francis paused to see what Arthur could possibly want now.

" I think I'll join you and go to bed as well." Arthur stated walking off in the direction of their bedrooms

" You'll join moi?" Francis gasped

"Hmm? In action, not physically. My, my you did get excited there didn't you?" Teased Arthur looking back through the door

" Careful what you wish for mon ami." Francis replied with a yawn

The next day found two sleepy looking blondes sitting in a pew of a large sand stone church with a tall spire with the classical weather vane on top of it. Both stared almost blankly at the vicar. Now and then Arthur would see something out of the corner of his eye and twitch. Francis leant in towards Arthur. Not because he was worried, but because he thought he could be more entertaining than the Vicar who was lecturing them on how god wanted them to behave.

"What iz et mon cher Arthur?" Asked Francis quietly

"That woman over there is cheating on her husband, that man has a drinking problem and beats his wife, that woman steals out of habit, and I think those two men are lovers. Really Francis, this whole congregation are terrible sinners and hypocrites. You go to a church of hypocrites." Arthur sighed

" 'ow can you tell? By your methods of deduction I presume?" Francis whispered

" You presume correctly." Was the reply

"Hmm, then et iz just as well that you are in the company of the worst sinner in this church non? Who better to guide you in this church of hypocrites?" Francis said flirtingly

Arthur looked at Francis sadly. This made Francis's smile slide from his features and him to glance down at his well polished Italian shoes.

" I would react differently to that comment you just said if it had been a joke, but sadly you actually believe that don't you? You believe you truly are a terrible person." Arthur whispered sadly

" I've killed men, I gamble and drink all ze time and I 'ave slept with men as well as women." Francis admitted in shame

"Shh Bonnefoy, I believe that you had good reasons for all of those things. You have killed men because you where in the army and it was kill or be killed, you drink to dull the pain, to have fun, to live out your culture. You gamble to help pay the rent and to enjoy yourself. As for sleeping with men I-" Arthur tried to comfort Francis but broke off in mid though and grabbed a bible infront of him

He flicked the pages as the vicar finished up the service. Francis watched him and peered over his shoulder to see what was so important. There he had flipped the bible to Leviticus 18 and read down until he got to Leviticus 18:22. Francis blushed and fidgeted but as the rest of the congregation got up Arthur managed to gain his attention again.

"Francis, how well did you know the past inspector? Did you know anything about his love life perhaps?" Arthur asked innocently

"Oui, ee 'ad flirted with me before, but I turned 'im down. Ee gave up, I azumed he fell for anuzzer." Franceis replied with a shrug

Arthur looked thoughtful. He had assumed, no deducted, that the motive for killing these men was because they were gay. But he still couldn't prove it. So one man was gay and possibly the other, and a bible was left open on Leviticus, big deal. It wasn't concrete and there still wasn't anything to connect the men.

"Tcht look at them, a couple of fairies if I ever saw 'em" sneered a man to his wife as he walked past Francis and Arthur

Francis and Arthur jumped. Neither had realized they had been sitting so close to each other. Both of their heads where almost touching, and if they were sitting any closer one of them would have been on the others lap. Francis looked horrified. He looked at the man as if to interrupt him, as Arthur looked thoughtful and muttered fairies to himself.

"Mr Hardwall, do not call Dr Bonnefoy that! He is a good respectable doctor thank you very much, and he saved my little daughter from pneumonia last winter. Plus didn't I see him and your sister dancing last season at Mr Abbydales party? " Defended a short salt and pepper haired lady with her hair in an elegant knot and a nice navy blue dress.

"Ah indeed you are correct Mrs Cooper, my apologies." Mr Hardwall said and walked off quickly

"Honestly! That man, he never thinks before he speaks! I hope he didn't offend you or your friend doctor?" asked the concerned Mrs Cooper

She glanced at both Francis and Arthur. Francis smiled and shook his head, but Arthur's eyes had grown wide as the realization had hit him. He stood up rather abruptly making Mrs Cooper and Francis jump.

"Fairies! That is why he has staged Fairy tales! My dear Francis, we know what he is trying to do now!" Arthur grinned like a maniac

" Oh my, is your friend alright?" Mrs Cooper wondered

"Oui, desole ee iz a little strange sometimes. Ee is a good person though, 'is name iz Arthur Kirkland. I must admit, I wish ee 'ad got offended because that would mean ee was gay, and that would signal that ee does 'ave an 'eart, even if et where sick. " Francis attempted to tease Arthur, but Arthur was flicking through the bible again.

"I heard that frog!" Arthur hissed

Arthur pretended that he was ignoring Francis, however in all truth he was looking at him out the corner of his eye. He was slightly impressed at how well Francis was hiding the fact that he was bisexual by insulting himself through Arthur. There were signs that he was lying, but since only Arthur had the skills of deduction inside the church nobody else could possibly tell.

Arthur was about to turn back to rereading the bible when he noticed a young chestnut haired woman watching him and Francis. She was extremely pretty and looked amazing in that red dress that contrasted with her blush and pale skin perfectly. She seemed to notice him looking at her an arched an eyebrow. Arthur looked at her slightly taken back. With everybody else there where tell tale signs of their personality, but with her nothing. If it wasn't her beauty what got him, it was his curiosity about how she hid herself so well. He rose from his seat slowly placing the bible back as he did so and walked towards her his eyes upon her only.

Francis looked at his companion. He watched as he walked towards the woman with his lips set in a grim line. Why was it that Arthur was attracted to the most dangerous things? The woman he was approaching was probably the most dangerous woman on this side of the Thames, not to mention that the way he was looking at her was almost like... Francis turned back to Mrs Cooper and smiled. Still he couldn't help but feel slightly worried and maybe a little jealous.

Arthurs notes

Sorry last weekend I was volunteering again. Plus I took it off from writing anything.


	6. Chapter 6

Mon cher Francis and the true villain

Francis was obviously flustered. He felt like he had skipped a step on a long staircase. For awhile he floundered looking at Arthur, who looked quite confused, and the Adler who seemed to be enjoying his suffering. Francis wanted to say or do something witty to try and hide his embarrassment, but Francis was not the kind of person to usually hide these feelings, and instead smirked and rolled his eyes at Adler.

"Really mademoiselle, you seem so certain on 'ow a mans 'eart work. I didn't know you where so experienced." Growled Francis

"Francis." Arthur warned

"No, no Mr Krirkland, those are the words of a man who has lost his figurative footing. I wouldn't scold him too much. However I have come across the news that you two are now acting detectives. How interesting. I heard that you are working on that ghastly case of the fae." Adler said calmly and conversationally.

"You are well informed Ms. Adler. So who in Scotland yard is your informant?" demanded Arthur dangerously

Francis felt himself gulp at the sudden appearance of Arthur. He was glad that he had convinced Arthur that bringing his gun to church wasn't appropriate otherwise the woman, as much as Francis disliked her, could have been put at risk. Adler however just smiled. Suddenly Francis felt like he had been thrown into a lion pit with two lions about to tear into each other. He had had no idea how frightening these two where, or why they where snarling at each other, but he prayed in his mind that Arthur would win this strange battle.

"Why Mr Kirkland, my informant is not of Scotland yard. My sole purpose today was to be a calling card, for these murders only just scratch the surface of the giant monstrosity that you face. Good day." Ms Adler said before turning and striding away

Francis made a move to stop her, but Arthur held him back. Francis turned to him and paused. The expression of Arthurs face was of utter intensity. Francis couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

"Shouldn't we...?" Francis asked

"No. If we catch her she will not say anything more. She is a smart woman and will only tell us what she has too. If she is the calling card then who sent her?" Wondered Arthur

"Maybe the murderer?" asked Francis

"No, there is something much bigger under the surface Francis. Whoever is in charge is playing a game, and we have just been invited to join. Now come on, it's Sunday and I believe Mrs Hudson would have done a wonderful Sunday dinner for us." Arthur explained and strolled out of the church like he had only been explaining something trivial

Sadly Arthurs excitement for his Sunday dinner had been ruined by two uninvited guests. Unfortunately they where related, and because blood is indeed thicker than water he couldn't really throw them out. Well he could, and he would, if it hadn't been for the sensible opposition of Mrs Hudson and Francis. So it was a grouchy Arthur who sat down in his chair opposite his two guests, who were of course his brothers.

"So where were you this morning?" Tristain asked

"What's it to you?" Retorted Arthur in his bad temper

"Well, I hear that the normal social convention is to start small talk, then eat dinner and then get into the more serious discussion or activities later." Trstain answered as if reciting the comment from a text book

"Hmm yes I suppose it could be broken down like that. I too have made such observations." Arthur agreed

Francis was trying very hard not to laugh, but caught Mrs Hudson's eye and had to turn away. Really, Arthur and Tristain were just plain useless when it came to being in another room with other people. Iain didn't find it funny. He looked kind of pained.

"Well fine I will humour your social experiment. I was at church actually." Arthur confessed

Tristain choked on the tea he had been sipping and Iain had seemingly forgotten how to breath. Francis didn't know whether to be amused or not. So he settled for pleasantly interested and knowledgeable on the subject.

"Ma god, ta world is endin!" teased Iain

"Don't over react. I just went to church with Francis that is all. Besides I have a feeling that the case is strongly related to religion. A sort of vigilante I think." Arthur replied with a shrug

"Feeling?"

"Oh, no I meant deduction." Arthur corrected

There was a silence. What was happening here? Did Arthur just use the word feeling? Iain had a belief that the "feeling" was probably not to do with the case. Still who could tell with Arthur? Obviously Tristain was thinking something along the same lines as Iain. Well maybe, Tris was just as hard to understand as Arthur.

"This all sounds very suspicious Arthur." Tristain announced

"It does indeed." Arthur agreed

The rest of the evening almost went pleasantly. Tris and Iain naturally joined Arthur, Francis and Mrs Hudson for dinner. Of course there where teasing, but oddly enough the only made to suffer was Francis, who ended up cleaning up after the brothers had drank their way through enough alcohol to poison a cart horse.

Francis sighed as he placed the bottles into garbage sacks. He had no idea Arthur could get that way. He had picked up his violin and began to play and sing. Surprisingly he was very good at both. Iain had joined him, then with a little bit of prodding Tristain began. Mrs Hudson had left earlier announcing that she had something early to do in the morning. As for Tris and Iain, they had eventually taken a cabbie home. As for Arthur... well...

"Watcha doin froggy?" He slurred drunkenly

"What does it look like?" Francis sighed

Arthur actually stopped and seemed to be thinking seriously about it. Francis rolled his eyes. It seemed that the great detective lost his powers of deduction when drunk. Like this he was almost normal. Arthur stopped thinking and smiled finally reaching a conclusion.

"Cleaning. But you don't really want to do that do you?" Arthur practically purred

"Non, not especially." Francis replied with his interest peaked

Arthur came closer and closer. He looked straight into Francis's eyes with his brilliant emerald ones. His face was coming closer and closer. Mon dieu. Arthur smiled, his breath sweet on Francis's lips, but with a faint smell of ale and whisky. Without a moment of hesitation he swooped in and took Francis's lips with his own. Francis was shocked, but before he could stop himself he responded by returning the kiss passionately.

Arthur groaned in enjoyment, which took Francis by surprise, but also encouraged him. He bit Arthurs lower lip to gain entrance, which Arthur obliged. Just at that moment though Iain came sauntering in and witnessed his brother and his colleague and friend.

"Whit ta hell are ye doin?" Iain exploded

"What does it look like?" Sneered Arthur

"Ah thought ye cared for ta law? Homosexual acts are illegal. Ye will noo be hanged, but ye will still gae tae prison." Iain warned

"Hmm, are you going to arrest us then officer?" Arthur asked

Iain frowned. He didn't really want to arrest his brother and his long time friend the doctor. Not now that he had found Arthur's greatest weakness and strength, which made him in a way more normal. Arthur yawned and smiled at Iain.

"Didn't think so. Night then." He said while stumbling off to his room

"Merci for interrupting us." Sulked Francis

"Just watch it frog, yer lucky tha ah dinnea take yer sorry arse in." Snapped Iain

Francis sulked in his chair, while Iain paced the living room. As far as he was concerned Arthurs actions were completely due to the alcohol. His brother may be soft on the Frenchman, but it was due to friendship right? After all this was Arthur's first time with friends. So Iain decided to write it off to his brother being intoxicated.


	7. Chapter 7

The Baker Street Irregulars

"Ugh my head hurts, could you keep it down Bonnefoy?" pleaded a red eyed Arthur who seemed to be lying on the breakfast table

Francis looked up from his humming as he had been reading the paper while Iain watched the two closely. Iain hadn't dared go home, in case something strange happened again. Francis had taken all this in his stride, as he poured tea from a teapot into a mug for the suffering Arthur.

"My humming iz annoying you? After you go to all zee trouble to annoy me by playing your violin at zee early 'ours of zee morning?" Teased Francis

"Tha aside, do ye remember what happened tae ye yesterday after ye got yersen plastered?" asked Iain of his brother

Arthur winced up at Iain who looked at his pained brother seriously. Francis felt his breath catch. If Arthur did remember their passionate kiss what would he have to say for himself? Would he deny it even if he remembered it? After all it was only natural to be ashamed of kissing another man. Francis wouldn't blame him... still it would hurt.

"Mmm? Of course I do. I don't see why you're both so interested in all that. Just leave me be!" Whined Arthur as he buried his face in his arms.

Iain let out an "ach" sound as Francis watched Arthur closely. Arthur noticed Francis's glare and rolled his eyes, then closed them in the pain that he had caused himself to do so. Francis decided to take pity on Arthur and offered him one of his Indian cigars. Arthur looked at it and waved it away. This took Francis by surprise slightly, as he had always found Arthur smoking them or his pipe when in his study.

"That's only for solving problems, not for hangovers." Muttered Arthur but Francis could hear the smile in his voice.

Iain seemed to be able to hear it as well, but before he could speak Mrs Hudson came strolling in with a letter addressed to Francis. Francis accepted it with a small nod and words of gratitude. Arthur peered over in his slovenly position with curiosity.

"Alas gentleman, I 'ave been called away by zee church to attend a charity event in a sister church in another community. Et seems I will be gone zee whole day. Try not to miss me to much mon cher Arthur." Francis informed them choosing to address Arthur in such a way to annoy Iain

Arthur bolted up and stared at his tangled web of pictures and string that showed the connection between all the fae cases. Francis was use to being ignored in such a way and took his jacket in his hand.

"Is it common?" Asked Arthur suddenly

"Ez wat common?" Asked Francis

"For parishes to visit other parishes?" Asked Arthur

"Oui, our church goes often to less fortunate community churches to give out food or clothing. " Francis answered

"Ah ha! Why did you not tell me this sooner Bonnefoy? You have just helped me solve this case! Who would have known that you had such a head for these things?" Arthur gushed

Francis blushed slightly at the complement as Arthur began bounding round the room announcing sudden exclamations of "oh of course!" and "exactly!" . His energy had disappeared as suddenly as it had come, and he turned to the two astonished people behind him.

"I have to contact them right away to make sure!" Arthur announced before getting his coat and promptly leaving.

His steps could be heard disappearing in the distance and then the closing of the front door was heard that signalled his departure. Francis and Iain stood in an awkward silence. True, the two had been friends long before Francis had met Arthur, but last nights events hung heavy in the air. The two didn't even want to speak to each other right now. The mantle clock chimed and Francis was shaken from his thoughts and silence.

"Well I must be going. I 'ave to go to ze church. I could call a cab for you if you wish?" Francis said graciously

"No. Ah have business tae discuss with mah wee brother. Ah will noo be tresspassin on yer hospitality any longer." Iain said coldly as he stood with his coat under arm.

Francis watched him stride out of the room. Had he lost an old friend there to gain a new one? Aghh! Why are the Kirkland brothers so complicated? Francis couldn't help but ask himself as he turned off the lamps to leave and call his hansom cab. He strode down the stair case, nodded his head in a gentlemanly manner to his land lady and closed the door behind him to turn to the crowded streets of London.

...

Nothing had prepared Francis for what awaited him on his return to 221B Baker street. Oh at this time he had been living with Arthur long enough to be use to the chemical experiments, the drugs, the bullet holes in the wall, dummies hanging by a rope, and all sorts of oddities that, god help him, he now considered to be a daily part of life. From the outside things looked normal, as he opened the door to their flat it looked normal inside as well. However as he walked into the living room he saw two small boys curled up on the sofa.

On closer inspection Francis felt his heart stop. Why did the boy with the shorter blonde hair that looked slightly messy look a little like Arthur? If the other boy looked like Arthur, the boy sleeping next to him looked a little like a shorter haired child version of Francis. Both boys wore scruffy ragged looking clothes and had blackened feet from trudging through the dirty streets of London. Francis dully wondered if the boys had ever bathed before in their lives.

Francis heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Arthur. He smiled and raised a finger to his lips and beckoned Francis to follow him into the other room, something that Francis did with out hesitation.

"Who are zey?" Francis asked

" Ah those boys are the Baker Street irregulars. The shorter haired boy is called Alfred and the other boy is his younger brother Matthew. They are two homeless little orphans who gather information for me. You see these boys see and hear everything that goes on in the streets in London. After all, why would anyone pay attention to two little homeless boys presence? Adorable aren't they?" Arthur explained

"Zis sounds slightly immoral; taking advantage of two petite boys." Francis replied frowning as he peered through the doorway to look at the sleeping forms

"Taking advantage of them? Of course not! In return for their services I will let them dine with us and sleep here in the winters. I also pay for all their medical bills and make sure they learn to read and write to some degree. I think that is a fair trade?" Arthur answered

"Oui, very nice. 'Owever why iz et you didn't consult moi?" Francis asked sulkily

"I didn't think it would be a problem. Think of it as a part time adoption. I always thought that you fancied yourself as a family man." Arthur replied with a shrug and walking back into the kitchen.

Francis fully gaped at Arthur. Was Arthur announcing that these two boys be something like sons to them? If that was the case then did he consider himself and Francis a couple? Then again this was Arthur... there was no way anything emotional could be involved in all this. But still, the way he had looked at those boys...

Francis's paused in his contemplation when he noticed black smoke billowing from the kitchen, and ran in to save Arthur. He found a forlorn Arthur staring at this crisp black thing in a frying pan. He muttered something about cooking not being true chemistry, as Francis laughed and began to work on a new dish, asking Arthur to help him now and then in an effort to help him keep his pride. The boys walked into the kitchen while Francis and Arthur where bickering with each other. They decided to help them and soon the immaculate kitchen was covered in flour and globs of raw batter.

"Our names are Alfred and Mathew. What's yours?" Asked the shorter blonde haired boy who had startling blue eyes

"My name iz Francis Bonnefoy. I am Arthurs roommate." Francis told him

"I like Arthur. He is very kind. He listens to us when no one else does." The quite boy with the longer blonde hair said gazing at Francis with his magnificent purple eyes.

"Alright then, Attention!" Arthur called when re entering the room

The two boys flew into a line standing shoulder to shoulder with some giggling. They both saluted in union. Arthur stood in front of them with his hands clasped behind his back, looking very much like a commander examining his troops.

"It's time for business. What do you have to report on the mission I gave you? Alfred, you go first." Arthur commanded after saluting back

Francis sat back on one of the arm chairs by the fire to watch their little show. A faint smile played across his lips as he watched Arthur with the boys. Francis could tell he was fond of them. The blue eyed brother answered Arthur's command.

"Well we went to the church like you asked. When we arrived we saw the woman you described getting out of a cab. A man at the church, he looked like a priest, addressed her as an Ms Adler. The same woman left the church after her talk with the priest and we heard her tell the cab to go to St Pancras Station. She mentioned that she had an appointment at Durham University to the priest before she did so."

The purple eyed brother nodded. Arthur stared off into space while the two boys chattered eagerly away to each other about the things they had seen on the trip.

"Do you know the name of the church?" Arthur asked

"Yeah, we can read now you know. It was St Augustines ." Alfred said puffing up his chest importantly

"I told you that. You had trouble reading that name even while sounding it out." Reminded Matthew

"Did not! Shut up! If I wanted advice on how to speak French then I'd come to you, but as this is English you can go and-" Retorted Alfred before Arthur silenced him by clearing his throat

"If you want to stay here tonight you have to behave." Warned Arthur

Both boys hung their heads. Francis sighed. Well now that he was helping raise these two perhaps he should learn a bit more about them. Did little Alfred say something about his brother knowing French? Well Francis thought as he watched the three other people in the room converse earnestly, he had plenty of time to get to know them. He just hoped Arthur wouldn't place them in too much danger.


	8. Chapter 8

Tools of the trade

The door bell was ringing, and Francis could not answer the door because he was wrestling with a furiously fighting orphan. Not to mention that his clothing was soaked and his hair had been pulled from its ribbon by angry desperate little soapy hands. Francis had been left to bathing the two orphans, who had not taken lightly to the idea of a bath. Arthur had of course disappeared, he always did when there was an domestic situation of any kind that threatened trouble for him.

The said orphan he was bathing now was Alfred. Both boys had been horrified when they had observed the bath full of warm water gently steaming. They had wailed and ran as fast as they could to escape and hide; so that they could wait for Arthurs return so that he could rescue them from the evil Francis. It had taken Francis ages to capture one of them, and when he had it had been little Matthew. His reaction had been to cling on to Francis with all his might. Francis had placed the boy in the bath tub easily enough after some whispered encouragement, but Matthew had sat there looking like a puppy that had just been kicked, his eyes wide with fear and his bottom lip trembling. Other than that he had been successfully cleaned up, given a nice new set of clothes, and his freedom to escape into the bowels of the flat.

Alfred had been a different story. He had fought and hissed like a wild cat even once he was in the bath tub. It was thanks to him that Francis had a scratch under his eye, his hair was out of its ribbon and that he was soaked to the bone. He grit his teeth again as the doorbell rang and he dodged a kick that was aimed in his general direction. Still he didn't get the door until Alfred was successfully clothed and screeching that he was going to throw Francis in the Thames if he caught pneumonia. Francis didn't care about the boys threats, instead he was curious about who could have had the patience to sit outside and ring the doorbell the whole entire time.

When Francis opened the door it was to a grinning Arthur and an annoyed looking Tristain. Francis felt like strangling his companion as Arthur beamed at him.

"Couldn't you 'ave just opened the door yourself?" asked a exasperated Francis

"Yes I could have. But then how would I know how successful you where as a parent? I decided to test you to see if you could handle the boys and answer the door. By the way you failed miserably. " explained Arthur

Francis grimaced and repeated " je ne le tuera pas (I will not kill him)" over and over in his head. Arthur however seemed to only just now take in Francis's appearance. He frowned.

"You didn't bathe the boys did you? Now how are they going to be effective as the eyes and ears of London if they don't look like homeless orphans?" Asked an irritated Arthur who entered the house followed by an uneasy looking Tristain

"Disguise them then! Like I would let any child of mine, even if they are only part time mine, go out like zat!" huffed Francis

At his words the two brothers paused. The intensity of their gazes made Francis blush a little. Tristain rolled his eyes, and Arthur looked at Francis curiously. Arthur had a dazed look on his face but Tristain shook his head at his brother.

"Dear god, what kind of fantasy is this? Playing house now are you Arthur? " Teased Tristain

Tristain, unlike Iain, didn't look remotely concerned about what kind of relationship his little brother was having with his flatmate. Instead he led the way to the living room and took the chair closest to the fire. The two boys who had been in hiding darted out of their hiding places and up to Arthur wailing about the torture Francis had put them through. Arthur comforted them and allowed them to curl up by his side. Tristain on his part introduced himself to them and told them that they could call him Uncle Tristain if they liked.

The three men talked about random things, but once the two Kirkland's got into a discussion about chemistry and the latest discoveries in physics Francis gave up with the talk. He found himself looking over at Arthur and the boys. The two boys were sleeping next to Arthur; the scene really did look adorable, like two little boys sleeping next to their beloved father. Francis sighed and went to gazing out of the window so that Arthur wouldn't catch him staring at him. He wondered just what was going on inbetween himself and the youngest Kirkland brother. Of course he didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts because Iain came trudging towards the house out of the London fog.

It had been Mrs Hudson who had shown Iain into the living room. Iain paused at the scene in front of him. His eyes widening at the sight of the boys. Tristain laughed and indicated that Iain should sit next to him.

"Ok boys, this is your Uncle Iain." Tristain informed them

Iain looked like he was going to fall out of his chair. Francis chose this time to be appropriate to shooing the boys off to their bed. He decided to accompany them so as to avoid another confrontation with Iain.

There was a silence that filled the room which now only held the Kirklands. The fire crackled and hissed in the hearth, flickering its light over the room. Iain seemed to be chewing his tongue and Tristain looked like he was going to burst out into laughter.

"Wha are ye thinkin? Adoptin twa wee bairns with tha eejit! Are ye tryin tae get yer seln arrested? Are ye tryin tae inform us all of yer preference for the company of men?" Hissed Iain

"Hmm I have made it no secret that I am fond of Francis's company. As for the lads, they're quite sweet aren't they? I don't see any problem." Arthur said his eyes sparkling mischievously

"Aren't you always telling me that you wanted Arthur to be more human? What is more human than love? Many great men fell for other men." Tristain sided with Arthur, the two mercilessly taunted Iain

"Aye, but... ach, whaur ever ah am leavin, ah need tae get a drink." Iain said shaking his head

Iain left as suddenly as he came. The two remaining brothers burst into laughter at his disappearance. However Tristain sobered up suddenly and his eyes narrowed as he looked at his brother. Arthur noticed him do so, and stopped his chuckling.

"Arthur, I'm worried. You're starting to be a little careless. Using those three as tools, bait even. Good god man! They're just boys! I don't care what you do to yourself, and personally I see nothing wrong with one less Frenchman in the world, but children Arthur!" Tristain scolded

"Worry not Tristain, after tomorrow the plan will be complete. No harm will be fall the boys, it is only Francis and myself who face any danger. " Arthur shrugged carelessly

"Have you warned Francis of the events to come? Also I can't help but wonder, but just how real is all this? Do you actually intend to adopt these boys to some degree? Do you actually have feelings for this man?"Tristain asked completely dumbfounded

"I have not informed Francis. I will not reveal my plan until the very end. As for the boys, I truly do intend to keep them in my service. As for my feelings about Francis, I do not know what to call them. But I would not want to do an investigation without him." Arthur replied in a bored tone

"I see. I do not oppose to your feelings for Francis, whatever they are. But do be careful." Warned Tristain

"Worry not, I have only been out smarted by a few men, and one is sitting in this very room with me. My plan will work well and I will keep the boys safe. Now if you excuse me, I must ask you to leave as myself and my household must prepare for a family outing." Arthur said


	9. Chapter 9

Meet the modern family

Arthur and his household walked up the steps of a shabby little church called St Augustines. The church may have once been nice, but obviously not in the past century. Its bricks where covered in black soot and the place had a grimy feel. Not only was the outside of the church in poor condition but so was the community surrounding it. Filled with houses that looked almost shack like, it was clear to see that the neighbourhood was a poor one.

Still the people in the community where in their best dress, some clothing patched over and over, and coming to the little church for their Sunday communion or mass. Francis, Arthur and the irregulars where in a more plain version of their best clothing, still they stood out and looked wealthy among the other parishioners. As such they where the centre of attention, not only for their wealthy clothing, but also due to the fact they were not from around that area. If there was one thing that the English where wary of, and maybe all the citizens of great Britain, it was of strangers to the area. Of course that hadn't stopped Arthur from making sure that he and his household got the pew in the front and centre of the church directly in front of the vicar. Maybe it was because of the wariness that the other parishioners felt that stopped them from approaching them to shoo them out of the pew, but Francis could tell their displeasure from the angry whispers coming from behind them.

Francis sighed. He had wanted the boys first church experience to be a pleasurable one, preferably in the cleanliness and wealth of his own church. Still he supposed that he should be grateful that Arthur had even let the boys go to church. It had surprised him when Arthur had announced that they were going that Sunday morning, and Francis couldn't suppress the feeling that Arthur was up to something. But church wasn't the place to have such feelings and thoughts so Francis tried his best to forget them and instead inform the boys on how church services usually went.

Arthur himself was watching the vicar intensely and never letting him out of his sight. If the vicar noticed this he pretended not to. But when he thought that Arthur and Francis weren't looking he looked at them with distrust. Something that Francis noticed that Arthur had seen, as Arthurs lips twitched in amusement.

"Let our sermon begin, if you could all be seated please." Started the vicar

And so it did. The sermon was like any other in any other church. With one exception, Arthur had managed to keep the other parishioners a fair distance from them. The closest person to them was the vicar himself. Half way through his lecture about sinful behaviour not being tolerable Arthur took hold of Francis's hand.

Francis was a little surprised. His hand hung loosely in Arthurs grasp, as Arthur squeezed it gently. Francis returned the pressure and sat there just holding his hand. He glanced at Arthur but Arthur was looking straight ahead pretending that nothing was happening. So Francis followed his lead trying hard not to blush, but he couldn't stop a small blush from colouring his features. No one noticed, except for the man standing in front of them who Arthur was pleased to see had stumbled over his words when he viewed their linked hands.

Finally the sermon ended. Arthur and Francis unlinked their hands and turned their attention to the boys. The vicar made a move to come over to them, but was cut off by a large woman and her timid husband.

"I 'aven't seen you before. Are you new to the neighbourhood or jus passin?" boomed the lady

"My dear lady, I am merely visiting. This here is my flatmate Francis Bonnefoy and the two boys we are caring for, Alfred and Matthew. I am Arthur Kirkland." Arthur said in his most charming gentlemanly way.

The result of his words made the woman a little flustered and also Francis as he was the picture of a charming prince. The Lady's husband however only noticed his words.

"Arthur Kirkland, I've 'eard of that name before you know. Ah that's it! Yer the bloke in the paper! That detective fellow who's tryin to figure out those murders, the fairy tale murders right?" The man exclaimed

"That's right." Arthur replied

"Oh how exciting!" exclaimed a woman behind Francis

"Oh yeah it sure is, but yer not here cause of that are yer?" asked the first woman's husband

"Non, you 'ave nozzing to worry about." Francis told them kindly

Arthur however stayed quite to that. Infact his eyes had traveled back to the vicar. The vicar smiled and finally made his way to them. Arthur stretched out his hand to shake the vicars, as was sometimes customary to do so, but the vicar eyed it with disgust and ignored it.

"Mr Kirkland, I have heard so much about you. I hope you enjoyed our little sermon today and that you may have learned something from it?" the vicar said caringly enough

"I believe I have gathered some interesting thoughts from today's service, thank you vicar." Arthur replied

The other parishioners became bored of the talking and left the vicar and Arthurs group alone. The boys looked around the church as if they where adventurers in an old pharaohs tomb. Francis watched them, and twice had to stop Alfred from trying to play the old beaten up looking organ. Arthur and the vicar exchanged pleasant chit chat as this was going on.

"So do you and your flat mate share any rooms with any other flatmates?" asked the vicar

"No, just us and our boys. The four of us are like some strange little family. You could call us a modern family; an abstract family if you like. Whatever we are, we are defiantly a family a little before it's time. " Arthur informed him

"Ah quite. It must be hard for you both raising such young boys." The vicar said with a tone that sounded like pity but there was a coldness in his eyes

"Sometimes. Now I must leave, I think I hear the hooves of my brother's carriage. He said he will take care of the boys for me tonight, and I said that he could meet me here. I hope he isn't causing too much of a scene, but I didn't want him going all the way to Baker Street." Arthur said in a convincing fake concerned kind of way

"I am sure every things fine. Goodbye Mr Kirkland." The vicar said

"Goodbye vicar, I am sure I will see you again."

Arthur walked calmly down the aisle and meet up with Francis as Alfred and Matthew raced a head to meet Tristain. Arthur could feel the vicars cold glare on him, but ignored it. He clasped Francis's hand again and walked hand in hand with Francis until they got to Tristains flashy carriage that was drawn by two beautiful chestnuts. Tristain peered out the window, as his adoptive nephews gazed out the window on the other side of the carriage, at their linked hands. He said nothing. Arthur took his hand from Francis's as he entered the carriage and shut the door behind them all.

The grand wooden carriage, the type that only wealthy politicians could hope to have, rumbled down the cobbled streets towards Baker street. The twin brothers where keeping Francis busy by pulling faces at the passersby, and Francis futilely trying to stop them. Tristain took advantage of their distraction to whisper to his brother.

"Have you warned him yet?" Asked Tristain

"No, but I will as soon as I get back to Baker street. I couldn't risk him refusing to take part in our little exercise back there. You will take the boys in for the night I presume?" Arthur replied

" Yes, but I wish you had asked Iain to do this. I and my house are not equipped for such things as children. They're messy, loud and always causing some kind of mischief." Sighed Tristain

" Just think of them as little politicians then, you're equipped enough for the full sized ones." chuckled Arthur

Authors notes

So this is the second to last chapter of this case! Next chapter Arthur wraps up the case and I have to make sure I use all of the clues I have scattered all around the story. I will probably introduce Moriarty after this case.

Hetalia character/ Sherlock characters

Arthur/ Sherlock

Francis/ Watson

Iain (Scotland)/ Lestrade

Tristain (Wales)/ Mycroft

Alfred and Matthew/ The baker street Irregulars (homeless network)


	10. Chapter 10

CHPT 10

Francis watched in confusion as the boys left with Tristain in the carriage. Arthur had not told him that the boys would be going with his brother for the rest of the day and night, and judging from everyone's reactions he had been the only one kept out of the loop. It wasn't the fact that he hadn't been informed that confused him, in fact he would have been more surprised if Arthur had told him or asked him, but the fact that he and Arthur had until tomorrow morning to themselves.

He stood and watched the carriage rumble away wondering at its meaning. He turned to the house, where Arthur was holding the door open for him. Right now Arthur was looking carefully at Francis as if he was a specimen that was under study. Francis blushed under his gaze and walked into the house shutting the door behind them.

"What ez et? Per'aps we are going to bed early?" Francis joked weakly

"Sit down Francis." Commanded Arthur without looking at him and leading them both into the sitting room

Francis sat down in an arm chair and Arthur sat in the one opposite. Arthur smiled at him and Francis began to feel uneasy.

"Francis there may be a little bit of danger tonight. We are going to wrap up this case." Arthur said and with that he felt his duty to Tristain was done and went to make himself a cup of tea

Francis blinked at the sudden announcement. He had half expected Arthur to leap up and grab his coat, but he seemed like he was in no rush to leave the house.

"Are we leaving soon?" Asked Francis

"No. I thought we could stay in for awhile. Unless you didn't want to utilize this time we have alone?" Arthur answered suggestively

"Non! That ez not what I mean't!" exclaimed Francis without thinking

Arthur laughed as Francis stood up and walked towards him. Both of them silenced and stared at each other in the eye. Francis was a little shell shocked right now. Did Arthur have feelings for him? Was he imagining all of this? Francis felt his head spin in confusion. He had feelings for Arthur, otherwise why would he allow him to treat him like he had? But Arthur... who knew how that person felt.

Arthur seemed to be realizing Francis's inner battle. That or he just took pity on him. Arthur pulled Francis into a hug and after a few minutes of the embrace the two parted and Arthur closed the gap between them into a kiss. Francis responded eagerly and both battled for dominance. Francis was going to be damned if he was going to let Arthur be the dominant one in their daily life and the bedroom.

He pushed Arthur upon the sofa and began to take off his shirt. To his surprise Arthur pushed him away. Arthur was blushing and breathing hard. Francis sighed of course this wasn't what he thought it was.

"Francis, maybe we should take this to the bedroom?" Arthur suggested

"Mine or yours?" Asked Francis huskily

"I was thinking mine, then once that becomes soiled we can stay in your bed for the night" Arthur said

"Trust you to ruin ze mood with your practicality." Sulked Francis as he stood up and crossed his arms

Arthur sat up and frowned as if trying to figure out what he had done wrong. It looked like he truly had no idea what he had done wrong. Francis's expression softened and he smiled and helped Arthur up off the sofa. He took him by the hand into Arthurs bedroom.

"Sometimes I can't 'elp but wonder why et ez that you can understand the latest scientific formula and theories but not the basic emotions of ze people around you." Sighed Francis

Arthur smiled. He would never let on how much he did understand of love. It was a simple chemical formula. He had seen Francis's pupils dilate enough times to know how he felt. But he also understood the non scientific part of love, which were people's reactions. The main motives of crime where love and money after all; just not in this case.

...

Francis lay next to Arthur his arms wrapped around his waist. He had no idea that Arthur could be so erotic, the way he had moved, groaned and the adorable faces he pulled. In fact just thinking about it gave him butterflies in his stomach. He leant forward a little and kissed the top of Arthurs head as he slept, worn from their endeavours.

It was at that moment that the door creaked open. By now it was dark and the person was dressed all in black. Francis gasped and sat up a little to see who could be. The person paused when he took in the scene. A splash of white could be seen around the person's neck.

"Disgusting and sinful. And you, a doctor, someone that countless people trust. How many men have you eyed with those lustful intentions of yours? I suggest that you pray for forgiveness. Maybe then you can be saved." The stranger said in a male voice holding out a rosary

"So that's how you did it." Replied Arthurs cool voice as the bedside lamp flicked on

Francis didn't know over what he should be more alarmed at. The fact that vicar from his very own church was standing in Arthur's bedroom, or the fact that Arthur had just pulled out a loaded gun from under the pillows that the two had been laying on previously.

Suddenly it all made sense. Arthur had wanted to hold his hand in that church and bring the boys so that they could lure the killer to them. He had then asked to be with Francis in his room so he could retrieve the gun from under his pillow when this time came around. The whole thing had been a trap from the beginning. And like the vicar he too had fallen into it. He turned his head so that neither could see the hurt in his eyes.

At that moment the vicar grabbed Francis and pulled him in front of him as a shield. He pulled his knife out and put it to Francis's throat. Arthur could have done nothing about it, as he had been half under Francis and hadn't been able to take a clean shot. He cursed himself for his slow actions and terrible positioning. All he could do now was play for timing so that an opening would present itself.

"So that's how you strangle them? You appeal to their guilt, have them place the rosemary around their neck and pray for forgiveness then strangle them with the rosemary? " Arthur asked but really it was more like he was just giving the vicar a chance to brag

" They knew that their actions where sinful and wicked. It was easy to strangle them while they thought they could be saved. But in a way I guess I did save them, so that they couldn't sin again." Sneered the vicar

"You and the vicar at St Augustines work together do you? Not only for the parish exchange, but in your "cleansing" of the world?" Asked Arthur

"Hmph that man is a fool. I bet you thought it was him who was killing these men? Well even though he hates these sinners he doesn't have the guts to do anything about it! All he does is gossip to me and pray for their souls! Still his information is useful and Ms Adler often reports between me and him." Shrugged the vicar

"Ms Adler, so she works for you, or is she just another gossip?" Asked Arthur

"Ms Adler? She has nothing to do with me. She works for HIM. He's the one who encouraged me on my mission. He even funds my attempts. I don't know what he gets out of this, maybe he just wants a cleaner world to live in like I do." Shrugged the vicar

"And who's HIM?" Asked Arthur

For the first time that night Arthur had heard something unexpected and was taken off guard. He couldn't help but feel a little excited that this case was leading into a far more interesting and challenging one.

"He is a genius. He has a special interest in you. He can really do anything, in fact he told me that he was gods chosen. I don't know his real name, nobody does, but he uses the pen name is Eire." Was the reply

Arthur felt as if his organs where made out of ice. It couldn't be him. Why would he be placing the world into complete utter chaos? For entertainment? To watch himself and Tristain scramble around and lose their dignity? All of those could indeed be correct. Arthur was trembling slightly from shock and a little bit of fear.

" Eire." Arthur mumbled

However he didn't have to much time to dwell on these facts. He had accidently lowered his gun slightly. The vicar took this opportunity to move the knife and cut into Francis. The vicar let out a vicious laugh at Francis's cry of pain.

"This room is a sick joke. We all have bleak futures, two of us have none and you will be going to prison, as I caught you in his(Francis cried out again as the knife drew more blood) bed ." Snarled the vicar

"You have no intention of getting away from the police?" Arthur asked gritting his teeth in frustration

"Oh no, I could escape them. However I accidentally let his name slip and broke our contract. He will kill me. " Sighed the vicar

The vicar stabbed Francis in the back. Arthur gasped and dropped his gun. The vicar sneered as Arthur ran to Francis's side. He trembled as he held the wounded Francis in his arms. He did a quick analysis of his wounds, oblivious to the fact that both the vicar and Francis fancied the doctor as a dying man. Neither of him knew that his trembling was due to anger, a blazing anger that left no room for reality and anything else. Neither of them expected the sweep kick that Arthur did that caused the Vicar to fall back and out of the second floor window.

...

"So how many times did this man fall from the window?" Asked Iain to his suit wearing brother

Arthur had checked on Francis's wounds, placed in the stitches, bandaged them, and placed Francis in his bed. He had then bathed and clothed himself and threw his bed sheets into the steaming water in the tub where Mrs Hudson would usually do their washing. All of this before sending a message to the police and for an ambulance.

"Three, four times? Really it was all such a blur I lost count." Arthur answered innocently

"uh huh, and those glass shards just happened to fall directly into his chest even though he fell backwards out of the window?" Asked Iain

"Odd isn't it how gravity works." Arthur replied with wide innocent eyes

"Right. I'm going to the morgue and then the station to write out the rest of my report." Iain sighed

Tristain sat on the edge of Francis's bed watching the whole thing with Francis. All three sat in silence as Iain left. Francis felt that the pain in his physical wounds would never measure up to the emotional ones. He couldn't hold back the questions much longer, and turned to Arthur.

"Azzur, was everything just to trap him? You offered us and ze boys up as bait?" asked Francis

Tristain stiffened and pretended that the pattern on Francis's bed sheets was something worth examining. He had been expecting this confrontation, just not it being in front of him.

"Of course. Didn't everyone tell you that there was no way that I could understand love and emotions? Even you yourself said that." Arthur said turning away from Francis and leaving the room.

Francis began sobbing. Tristain shifted awkwardly as he really didn't count comforting people as one his fortes. He awkwardly shifted towards Francis and patted him on the back in a "there, there" gesture. He had seen some of his servants do that when one had been given news of a sick relative. He guessed that this could be one of those moments as well.

"Oh do stop that noise you silly little frog. It is true that he set this up as a trap. However he didn't have to go so far as to kiss you, or sleep with you. He could have just as easily laid in wait for him with his gun in the sitting room in the dark. Also do you think that he would have responded to him hurting you like he did if you meant nothing to him? For god sakes man! He threw the man out of the window countless times and stabbed him in the chest with glass shards! He made sure that the man died so that you would not go to prison. I mean we both know that he wouldn't be going to prison as there isn't a prison in the world that could hold Arthur Kirkland. " Tristain scolded

Francis looked up at Tristain who was turning red at his outburst. He looked quite uncomfortable about sharing his observations. He stood up and was about to leave.

"Then why did ee say ee didn't love me?" Asked Francis

"He was offering you an escape. Now please work the rest out for yourself!" snapped Tristain turning an inhuman shade of red

"An escape? Ah you mean from all ze danger ee thinks ee forces me into. I suppose this 'as to do with 'im. 'Ave you ever 'eard of an man with ze name Eire?" asked Francis

Francis watched with interest as Tristain turned from beetroot red to snow white in mere seconds. The name had made him stiffen. But he didn't turn to Francis when he replied.

"No doctor, I have never heard of Eire before. As for Arthur, I do wish you two would talk about your feelings to each other. Now I must be leaving, I have left the boys with my butler, something Arthur isn't too happy about. Why it angered him I haven't the foggiest. It's not like I left them by themselves." Tristain said snappishly

With that Tristain walked shakily from the room. He closed the door but accidentally left it ajar. Francis could hear muffled voices of Tristain and Arthur. He heard them mention Eire once, but other than that he couldn't make out the rest.

Francis jumped as the door opened and Arthur walked in. He looked up guiltily and Arthur being Arthur, figured out why and sighed.

"Francis, I think I should move out. That way you can find someone else, maybe a nice woman and have that family you often talk about." Arthur began

"Non, I 'ave a family with you and our boys. Azzur does this Eire 'ave you that frightened?" Francis said gently

"How many times do I have to tell you that this was all a part of the game? Tomorrow you have a date with a Miss Joan that I met the other night. " Arthur said coldly

Francis watched Arthur stand up. He looked tired and slightly defeated. Francis sighed, he would just have to try and play a game against Arthur himself. He couldn't let Arthur face Eire as defeated and dejected as he was looking right now. As it was to do with emotions, luck was on Francis's side.

"Alright Azzur, if zat ez what you want mon cher (Arthur flinched at the way he addressed him). I will go out with 'er, but I shall 'elp you with your next case even if you do succeed in pushing me off to 'er." Francis told him defiantly

Arthur gave him a helpless look and smiled sadly. He left the room with composure but as soon as he entered the living room he allowed himself to slump into his chair and the tears to fall freely.

"Eire, why do you like to hurt me so much?" Arthur asked the air

Authors notes

Hetalia character/ Sherlock characters

Arthur/ Sherlock

Francis/ Watson

Iain (Scotland)/ Lestrade

Tristain (Wales)/ Mycroft

Alfred and Matthew/ The baker street Irregulars (homeless network)

Connor/Eire (Ireland)/Moriarty

Now I have nothing against the Irish. It's just after watching bbc's Sherlock I couldn't help but feel that it was a battle of two bored individuals (Sherlock and Moriarty). A giant game. Something that perhaps two very bored and amazing brothers would do? Also I will be using more hetalia original character if I continue.

I think you can tell that I am a Sherlock fan as I used the window lines from the show. The gravity and shard ones where my own though.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 A troublesome date

Francis sat in a busy restaurant, at a table for two that had a silk table cloth and gold utensils. The room was filled with a buzz of conversation and the clink of glasses. Somewhere a string orchestra was playing. It was very fancy, and exactly to his French tastes, however he would rather had been here with Arthur. Still, the blonde haired woman, with scandalously short blonde hair, sat across from him instead. She was very pretty, and from her accent he guessed French like himself. If he hadn't already given his heart away, then maybe he would have fallen for this woman.

"Where waz eet that you said that you worked again, monsieur?" She asked politely

"Ah, desole mademoiselle Joan, I am a doctor. I work for zee yard. "Francis replied realizing he had been zoning out of the conversation the lady had been trying to engage him in.

"Oh, so zat ez 'ow you know monsieur Kirkland." Joan said smiling kindly

"Oui. If you do not mind me asking, but 'ow ez et that you know Azzur?" asked Francis who was genuinely curious about this.

He had known Arthur for almost a year now. Despite himself and Arthurs brothers , Arthur had no other visitors. He had shown no other indication that he had friends outside of this normal social circle. Nor had he shown any indication of trying to increase said circle. So how he had managed to set up this little date between Francis and Joan was beyond Francis.

"Ee met me on one of iz past cases. I was standing up for what I believed in, and even though ee 'imself proved to be one of my biggest hurdles in doing so, we later on became acquaintances. It turns out zat ee 'imself has a little French blood in iz veins (This took Francis by surprise and he wondered why he hadn't told him this fact. Then again it could have been a pride thing, so he decided to store away this information for later use.) and I often find iz conversations to be refreshing. Ee ez an remarkable man non?" Joan explained

"Oui, ee iz." Francis agreed and sighed a little before saying it.

If anyone spotted the two, they would have believed it to be a date. However a man dining alone in his favourite corner of the restaurant, pretending to read the newspaper, saw it as something very different. His messy blonde hair was causing the fussy rich old lady at the table behind him to throw him dirty looks, but he didn't pay her any attention. In fact he had probably never even noticed her existence. His bright emerald eyes, that so rarely missed anything, where scanning the couple that where sitting a few tables across from him. He couldn't possibly hear them over the silly babble of conversation, but the words they could have been saying would not of been what they truly meant anyway.

He noticed that neither of their eyes truly met. A sign that neither of them felt comfortable with each other or a connection. Another sign was that every now and then one of them would flicker their eyes at the clock that was loudly ticking away on the wall beside them. This showed that neither truly wanted to be there. However Arthur had made sure Francis had gone, and as for Miss Arc, she clearly had reasons of her own to try and forge a connection between Francis.

Arthur had not just noticed the awkwardness and unwillingness of the forced couple, but some suspicious looking men who were also observing the oblivious couple. Arthur watched them with even more interest. One was a Chinese man, wearing a long red coat stereotypically seen as Chinese, probably made out of silk. He had long raven black hair pulled back into a pony tail. He had youthful face, with brown almond shape eyes. In Arthurs opinion the man was quite cute and handsome looking. He shook his head at the thought, wondering if his relationship with Francis had ended up perverting his thoughts.

It wasn't really that surprising to see a Chinese man in an English restaurant. In fact Arthur wouldn't be surprised if the man owned a trading company that traded with Great Britain. The surprising one at the table the two were sitting at was his large companion. This man was tall and looked sturdily built. He wasn't fat, just large. His hair was short and whitish blond. He also had amethyst coloured eyes, similar to little Mattieus in colour. Already the man seemed odd, but that wasn't really what was unsettling Arthur. It was the man's childish expression which still managed to threaten anyone who looked at him. It was enough to make the hairs on the back of Arthurs neck stand up.

"Your tea sir. May I get anything else for you?" Asked a waiter who seemed to be from India judging by his darker complexion and short black hair.

"Yes thank you. Maybe one of those toffee puddings." Arthur said politely while dismissing the waiter and giving in to his rather large sweet tooth

The waiter gave him a nod of his head and left the table. Arthur watched as the waiter left, feeling that he was forgetting something. He shrugged it off, and continued watching the two tables. He smiled when he saw that Francis had ordered Boeuf bourguignon, how like him to order something typically French thought Arthur lovingly. He mentally slapped himself and looked across at the other table.

The other two seemed a little uneasy. Their food had just arrived, and despite the fact that England's food had once been internationally viewed favourably, now that the industrial revolution had taken it's toll people had moved away from their farms and into the cities, thus making the international view of the food fall terribly. This was probably why the Chinese man and the tall platinum blond where poking the food uneasily with a fork. Arthur rolled his eyes as the waiter put down his sticky toffee pudding in front of him, he would rather have a steak and kidney pudding over Francis's home cooked frog legs or horse meat any day.

So the five continued to eat their meals. Three of them watching the awkward ignorant couple. This restaurant scene was anything but comfortable for anyone involved. Arthur was bored of watching the others. It was obvious that the Chinese man and his companion where tailing Francis. Also watching Francis and Joan was making him feel a little queasy and more than a little jealous. So he turned his attention to the waiters bustling around the restaurant. After a few minutes of watching them he realized the Indian waiter who had served him was no were to be seen. He looked down at his pudding and shrugged to himself as he took another forkful.

Finally the couple got up to leave, the other two following, and Arthur getting up to follow them. Before he did so, he carefully smeared something around the edge of the plate. On que, the Indian waiter arrived and picked up his plate while holding it he turned to Arthur.

"Sir, I am afraid I must ask you to come with me to the front of house for a moment." The Indian said apologetically but his eyes shone with mischief

"Of course. Is there a problem?" returned Arthur equally as polite, his shining with amusement

"Well si-" the Indian man started but suddenly staggered backwards and then collapsed on the floor

Arthur called an the alarm as men rushed to and fro trying to help the poor waiter . That or get him out of sight of the ladies. Arthur easily blended into the crowd and slowly moved through it to the door. He hated to dine and dash, so left his receipt and money under the desk at front of the house. He liked that restaurant, and would one day like to escort Francis to it for an more enjoyable visit. He then left at a run to catch up to Francis's pursuers.

...

"Yao, you are sure that he is the one da?" Asked the tall blonde to his Chinese companion

"Dui, I am Ivan." Was the reply

Ivan watched as the handsome long haired blonde with blue eyes and beard escorted the short haired blonde woman. He had no idea how Yao did know that that was indeed Francis Bonnefoy. Maybe Mr Kirkland had given him a picture or something. To Ivan he could have been anyone. He was defiantly not in the company of a scruffy blonde man with emerald eyes like the man who had sent them here.

"Well what do you want to do with him? Should I hit him with this and take him back to Eire?" Asked Ivan pulling out a metal pipe

"No need for that old chap. I believe Eire as you called him, would be happier if you brought me to him. Don't you think so companion?" Said a cold English voice from behind them

Both whorled around to see a man in a waist coat,with a chain of his pocket watch clipped to his right pocket and hanging loosely down the top of his right leg before going back into the pocket. He was also wearing a top hat and holding a cane. He had scruffy blonde hair and emerald eyes. He was the one that Eire had told them about, the true target! And he had just walked straight up at them! Yao and Ivan paused and glanced at each other. Then they both dashed towards the gentleman who didn't do anything but smirk at them. The two tripped on something invisible and sprawled across the ground at the man's feet.

"Oh my, do look out for the catgut wire." Taunted the man as he knocked them out with his cane and all went dark.

...

Back at 221 B Baker street sat Arthur and Francis drinking tea. Francis had arrived back after escorting Miss Joan to find Arthur reading to the irregulars. The sight always made him smile and his heart warm. Right now the irregulars where trying to learn their numbers at the table, but every now and then Arthur would bark out Alfred's name as the boy would try to cheat and copy down Mattieus answers.

Suddenly there was a crash as the front door was opened with a terrible force. Their poor house keeper, Mrs Hudson, let out a startled cry, and then could be heard trying to calm someone who was approaching the room with quick angry steps. Francis looked at Arthur with alarm, but Arthur continued to sip his tea and observe the boys to make sure Alfred wouldn't cheat on any more of his math.

"Really, I completely understand your frustration, but please refrain from damaging the house! Plus I am sure you have startled Mr Bonnefoy and those sweet lads." Mrs Hudson could be heard saying as the living room door flung open

Standing there was a livid Iain. The boys let out cries of joy at seeing their uncle. Especially Mathew who was extremely fond of his Uncle Alba as he would call him. Arthur merely picked up the teapot and poured another cup of tea. Iain strode up to him and stood glaring at him.

"Cannea noo have a normal day without causin any one any trouble?" roared Iain

"Busy day at work was it?" Arthur asked putting some personal touches on the tea so that it would taste they way that Iain like it.

"Yer ken whuar ah am talkin aboot! Tha waiter at yer favourite restaurant found unconscious and tha twa men found unconscious down tha road from here. Ah ken it was ye!" snapped Iain

Iain was fuming, but as angry as he was at his little brother, he still sat down and allowed Mathew to sit on his lap and snuggle up to him. Arthur saw this, and noted it as his triumph as there was no way that Iain would remain this angry in Mathews company for long. The boy had a calming effect on his uncle.

"Oh you don't say? How unfortunate. I imagine all of them are just fine by now." Arthur said in an off hand way as he placed the tea down in front of Iain.

"Azzur, the restaurant in question wouldn't be the one you made reservations for myself and Miss Arc would it? Ah but of course..." Francis said answering his own question

"Well I was a little worried Francis. I like that restaurant and didn't want you mucking up my reputation there. Iain, are you sure that you are yelling at the right little brother when it comes to those unfortunate men?" Replied Arthur who finally taking the conversation seriously

"What you mean Tristian?"Asked Francis in an appalled voice

But both Kirkland's ignored Francis. Iain closed his eyes and groaned. Arthur gave a scone with clotted cream to Alfred who happily bit into it. Francis watched in confusion and Mathew snuggled into Iains arms and looked owlishly at all the adults.

"Yer twa are always out fer each other's blood. Yer never get on will ye?"Asked Iain hopefully

"Nope. I completely hate him, and he hates me. " Arthur responded

" Ah dinnea think tha. If ah remember correctly thuar was a wee laddie, ye to be precise, tha followed im around everywhere and wanted ta be jus like him. He also would lend yer an hand with problems, though always in secret." Answered Iain watching with delight the embarrassment on his little brothers face

Arthur answered him with an hmpf, and Iain sat with satisfaction and drank his tea. Mathew and Alfred chattered away to him about their day and showed him the pictures they had drawn. Finally Iains break time was drawing to close as he gently pushed Mathew off of his lap and stood up.

"May ah ask what poison you used on the waiter sae ah can tell the hospital?" Iain asked with a yawn and Francis noticed how everyone was taking the poisoning as an every day occurance.

"Yes it is a benzodiazepine that can be absorbed through the skin. It should cause sleep and a calmness. It is usually used on the mentally sick. Activated charcoal should combat any harmful side effects but I doubt its needed for his recovery." Shrugged Arthur who poured more tea into his and Francis's cups

"Right. Night." Iain said waving hand in a goodbye gesture at the boys

"Oh an Francis, watch yer back is what ah think we can conclude from this conversation. Arthur isn't goin tae be watchin yer back all the time." And with that warning Iain left

Authors notes

Hetalia character/ Sherlock characters

Arthur/ Sherlock Holmes

Francis/ James Watson

Iain (Scotland)/ Lestrade

Tristain (Wales)/ Mycroft

Alfred and Matthew/ The baker street Irregulars (homeless network)

Connor/Eire (Ireland)/Moriarty

Joan of Arc/ Mary Morstan (Later Mary Watson)

Yao / Moriarty's crony

Ivan / Moriarty's crony

Vikas (India)/ Moriartys servent

Note: Some characters are not in the actual Sherlock Holmes book. However, as James Moriarty plays a role of a university professor, and/or a well off gentleman, it stands to reason he has servant. As this takes part in Victorian England, it is not that far fetched to believe him to be Indian.

Russia and Ireland: Russia was one of the first countries to recognize the Republic of Ireland as a nation.

China and Ireland: China and Ireland have some pretty good relations.

India and Ireland: These two surported each other and tried to get their freedom from the English empire at around about the same time.

England's sweet tooth: With traditional puddings being so high in calories and sweet, plus the fact that Cadbury is an English chocolate factory, when I went to Thirsk there seemed to be more sweet shops than anything else, more sweet/candy variety and lets not forget the very popular drink J20 (Jay two oh) which was everywhere I looked is it no surprise that I decide to portray England as having a sweet tooth?

English food: Ok, once upon a time ago, other countries liked English food. However after the industrial revolution and the World Wars (which caused rationing) English foods reputation plummeted. Today is a little bit different. There is now a renewed interest food. Out of the worlds top 50 restaurants 15 are from Great Britain. Also I think that most of the English speaking world knows at least one-two famous English chefs?

Now I have nothing against the Irish. It's just after watching bbc's Sherlock I couldn't help but feel that it was a battle of two bored individuals (Sherlock and Moriarty). A giant game. Something that perhaps two very bored and amazing brothers would do?


End file.
